Questions
by hineko
Summary: Souji is growing up fast and he has… questions. Who better to ask than Kondou and Hijikata?
1. Hanamachi

Somewhere in the time suck that is Tumblr, someone (I cannot for the life of me remember who's blog it was… my apologies!) brought up the fact that Hijikata and Kondou would have been responsible for answering all of Souji's embarrassing coming-of-age questions as a child. They both would have been delightfully and hilariously awkward in their responses!

Disclaimer: Hakuouki is not mine.

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><p><strong>Hanamachi<strong>

Souji looked curiously at the now familiar looking box sitting outside the dojo. Hijikata was passing through again and had obviously left it sitting unattended on the veranda. Smirking to himself, Souji took one last look around to make sure no one was watching before he picked it up discreetly and moved quickly to a hidden part of the yard he often frequented. Settling himself comfortably under the shade of a large tree, he opened the lid and began rummaging through its contents.

"What does Kondou-san see in him?" He quietly mused. After all, that _was_ the reason he was going through Hijikata's things. Perhaps it would shed some light on the biggest mystery in Souji's life currently: why Kondou-san liked Hijikata-san _so much_.

So far his search had been less than illuminating. Mostly the box was filled with packets of that worthless medicine Hijikata was always going on about. He was about to give up when something at the very bottom of the box caught his eye. An attempt had obviously been made to hide it, which naturally perked young Souji's interest. Pulling out the small book, he opened it and began reading.

"'In a rundown shack, lying there it is most cold, I see the spring moon.'" Frowning at the pages in front of him, Souji tried to make sense of the poem. It looked nothing like the poems his sister had made him read. Was it supposed to be a haiku? Granted, he knew nothing about poetry but this seemed… especially bad. Flipping through the pages, he only found more of the same. Nothing at all that explained why Kondou liked the medicine salesman so much. If anything, poetry this bad should have been more points against Hijikata.

Sighing dejectedly, he reached to put the book back when some seemingly loose pages fell to the ground. Picking them up, he noticed immediately that they were different from the paper in the book. They were letters that had been hidden in the last few pages. Unfolding them carefully, Souji began reading.

_Toshizou,_

_I look at you and contemplate this one question: how could I have lived with the absence of you from my life for so long? Before you, I could not give love, but only moments of caring. I never showed my true feelings, I hid behind a façade I was taught to wear. __ But I opened my eyes when I met you, your beauty so resplendent that it captured me and I was enthralled. _

_My heart began to beat again when we made love, the darkness that contained it slowly disappearing. And with every encounter, every look into your violet eyes my heartbeat stronger and faster. Until the black was dispelled and I could breathe again, and the feelings of love filled me. With you my heart finally skipped a beat, or fluttered with excitement; never before did it act this way…_

Apparently Hijikata had a girlfriend. Souji snorted at the thought. He could barely stand being in Hijikata's presence, he couldn't imagine why a girl would willingly do so. His answer became clearer as he continued to read through the letter (which went on and on, praising Hijikata's handsome looks to the point of making Souji nauseous). Near the end of the letter was a plea for Hijikata to return to the hanamachi soon. _Hanamachi?_ Souji was confused. As far as he knew, there were no towns by that name around here. _Maybe Hijikata-san met her during his travels?_

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Kondou's booming voice echo from the dojo, telling the older students that lessons were over for the day. Souji quickly stuffed the letters back into the book of poetry and put them in their original hiding place at the bottom of the medicine box. Not wanting to get caught snooping, he looked carefully around the tree he had been sitting underneath. Seeing that he still had some time before the students exited the dojo, Souji hurried back to the veranda and left the box where he had found it, and just in time too! He had barely had time to appear to be nonchalantly waiting for the lesson to finish before Hijikata himself appeared on the veranda. Said man narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the young boy and began walking towards him.

"Souji, what are you doing out here?" Hijikata asked warily. He knew from past experiences that an 'innocent' looking Souji was a dangerous Souji. For some reason unknown to him, Hijikata always found himself on receiving end of Souji's tricks and insults. Honestly, he had no idea why the child disliked him so; he'd tried very hard in the beginning to be kind to the boy since Kondou was so fond of him. In the end though, his efforts had been for naught as Souji was an expert at making Hijikata lose his temper, usually with only a sentence or two. Honestly, it was uncanny how well the child knew how to push his buttons! He really could think of no other reason for Souji to be sitting so serenely on the veranda other than making him the victim of another of his nefarious jokes. "Don't you have chores to be doing?"

Souji had no trouble directing an annoyed glare in Hijikata's direction. He had briefly thought about maintaining his innocent pretense, but seeing that Hijikata already sounded suspicious would only heighten the man's misgivings. "I finished them a while ago." He replied shortly. As Hijikata continued to look unconvinced, Souji added, "Not that it's any of your business, but I've been waiting for Kondou-san."

Of all the answers Souji could have given, that one was the only response believable enough to make Hijikata rethink his initial suspicions. The boy was constantly following his mentor around, forever asking questions and attempting to wheedle extra lessons from the kendo instructor. Hijikata often wondered which would be worse; having Souji's admiration or his disdain. Either one forced you to be in constant close proximity to the boy, which Hijikata was finding to be increasingly intolerable. He had never been especially patient to begin with. Sighing deeply, as the long suffering often do, he replied, "He should be done in a minute. He was helping one of the visiting students."

Souji made a noncommittal noise indicating that he had heard him before getting up from the veranda and entering the dojo, seemingly unconcerned that Kondou was still finishing up the previous lesson. _Brat…_ Hijikata thought in annoyance before heading to the bath to rinse off after his vigorous training session. Trying to outthink Souji was rarely productive and often left him with only a headache to show for his efforts. _Let Kondou-san deal with him for now. At least he's safe from the kid's tricks!_

Fortunately for Souji, it seemed as though Kondou had finished helping the other student rather quickly which meant he finally had him alone for a time. Maybe he would be able to tell him where this hanamachi was… or what it was. He could ask him after they sparred.

Kondou smiled seeing his youngest pupil enter the dojo. It always amazed him how eager Souji was to practice and learn Tennen Rishin Ryu. Despite all of his chores, the young boy always made time to practice no matter how worn-out he was. Even though Kondou had been teaching all day and was tired himself, if Souji could push himself to practice so late in the day so could he. "Ah, there you are Souji! I thought maybe you weren't coming today."

Souji looked stricken for a moment before he recovered himself. "But why wouldn't I come Kondou-san? You were working with that other student a minute ago and I didn't want to interrupt you."

Chuckling softly, Kondou replied, "I was only joking Souji. Are you ready to learn something new?"

Souji's eyes brightened and he nodded enthusiastically to Kondou's suggestion. Picking a bokken off the wall, he turned his attention to his mentor. Kondou took a few minutes to go over the basics of the kata with his pupil, before allowing Souji to start practicing on his own. It was in the middle of this work out that Souji finally worked up the courage to ask Kondou about the hanamachi. "Kondou-san, you're pretty familiar with this area, right?"

Kondou looked momentarily startled by the unexpected change in conversation, but he quickly recouped. "Hmmm, I'd say so. I've lived here for many years now. Why do you ask?"

Determining it would be best not to mention where he _actually_ found out about this term, Souji made the decision to change a few of the details of his story to keep himself from being scolded. After all, Kondou _did_ like Hijikata and would probably be cross with Souji for going through his belongings without permission. "I heard some of the other students mention how much fun it is to go the hanamachi. Do you know where it is?"

"H-hanamachi?!" Kondou spluttered, stopping his kata in mid-motion.

Souji tilted his head to the side in confusion. Why was Kondou blushing and why did he look so uncomfortable? "Yeah. I hadn't heard of a town by that name before but I thought you might have."

"A town?" Kondou was quickly coming to very welcome conclusion that his young pupil had no idea what the hanamachi actually was. After all, if one took the _literal_ translation of the word to heart, as Souji was apparently doing, it made sense that the boy actually thought there was a flower town nearby. _But how do I explain to him what it actually is?_ Souji was still too young in Kondou's opinion to have _that_ particular conversation. Perhaps he could… not mention a few details. "Well, a hanamachi isn't really a town, more like a neighborhood or district."

"I see. So it's close by?"

"Erm…" Kondou hesitated. Souji was extremely curious and if he found out that Yoshiwara was relatively nearby, he would certainly want to explore which was exactly what Kondou was trying to prevent. "Not really. It's on the other side of Edo." Which could technically be true, considering there were several hanamachi in Edo. There had to be one on the other side of town, which was a distance that would discourage Souji's curiosity.

"Oh." Souji replied, looking a bit crestfallen. "So I guess it would be hard to go there?"

Looking immensely relieved, Kondou nodded emphatically, "Yes, it certainly would."

"But what happens there that makes it so much fun?" Souji asked inquisitively.

"F-fun?" Kondou _really_ did not want to have this conversation. He wasn't a vindictive man, but he was giving serious thought to punishing whichever student had told Souji about the hanamachi. "Well, there are teahouses there which also provide some entertainment like plays and music." That sounded innocent enough, no to mention boring. Souji often complained to Kondou about the numerous tea ceremonies that Gen-san had forced the child to participate in so he was desperately hoping this would end the conversation.

Souji gave up practicing all together at this point. He needed to focus on the conversation, as it was getting rather confusing. "Teahouses? But what does that have to do with flowers?"

"W-well… well, you see Souji…" Kondou stammered while turning an even more impressive shade of red. How could he possibly explain about the 'flowers' that resided in the hanamachi without also explaining _other things_? "The… decorations are flowers. That's how the hanamachi got its name." Kondou prayed to every deity he could think of that Souji would accept this answer.

Frowning, Souji looked skeptically at his mentor. "But I thought teahouses were where you went to spend time with oiran. So a hanamachi is just a bunch of teahouses decorated with flowers? That doesn't sound like fun at all."

"Well perhaps when you're older you'll find them more interesting…" Kondou said weakly, before realizing exactly what Souji had said. It took everything Kondou had to make himself sound stern, "Wait, how do you know about oiran Souji?"

"Everybody knows about oiran Kondou-san." Souji answered matter-of-factly.

Looking at Souji seriously, Kondou placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Souji, there's nothing wrong with visiting the hanamachi. Watching an oiran perform is entertaining and definitely something you should experience when you're older. But men who frequent these establishments often lose more than just their money; they frequently lose themselves as well. There are other ways to have fun that don't involve such a questionable atmosphere. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Souji nodded obediently. If Kondou didn't think it was good idea to visit the hanamachi, then the prospect of ever going to one held no interest to the boy. Smiling up at his mentor, he answered, "Thanks for the lesson Kondou-san, and for answering my question. It's getting late. I should go start helping with dinner." Souji then quickly bowed in respect before replacing his bokken on the wall.

Kondou waited until Souji was out of sight before burying his face in his hands. _I don't think that conversation could have been worse!_ He had not thought that Souji was old enough to know about such things as oiran and hanamachi, but it had already been two years since the boy had arrived at Shieikan dojo. And while he may still think of Souji as a young child, the reality was that the dojo was filled with young men. It was to be expected that an impressionable boy like Souji would pick things up here and there.

He resolved then and there that he would keep a closer eye on Souji. He had to make sure that when Souji _did_ learn about such things, that it came from a reliable and accurate source. Smiling in satisfied way over his decision, Kondou began to leave the dojo himself before a stray thought brought him to an abrupt halt. _How do I tell Mitsu-san?_ Souji's older sister was… formidable. She also expected frequent reports on her brother's well being. Perhaps he could gloss over a few details in his next letter. Calming down significantly, Kondou continued to make his way to the hall for dinner. Maybe Gen-san would make some tea; he needed something to calm his nerves after such a trying afternoon.

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><p><span>Author's Notes:<span>

1. Hanamachi, which literally translates to 'flower town', are the oiran districts. Yoshiwara was the main hanamachi in Edo, similar to Shimabara in Kyoto. Oiran were often called flowers, so when Kondou says the hanamachi are decorated with 'flowers', that's what he means XD

2. If anyone has any ideas about what mischief Souji can get into next, I'm open to suggestions!


	2. Blackmail

Sorry for the delay! I've been out of town for the past few days. Happy holidays to all of those that celebrate! We did Christmas early since I'll be working on the actual day XD

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Hakuouki.

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><p><strong>Blackmail<strong>

"I still don't see why you needed me to come with you for this chore." Hijikata griped. Somehow, he had gotten roped into helping Souji pick up the tofu for tonight's dinner. According to Gen-san, they were having guests at the dojo which necessitated the extra trip to the tofu vendor. Normally this job fell to Souji, but Gen-san worried that the additional amount was more than the boy could carry on his own, which is how Hijikata found himself walking to the tofu vender with Souji.

Rolling his eyes at Hijikata's complaining, Souji retorted, "It wasn't _my_ idea to have you tagging along! You think I wanted to spend the afternoon with you? Gen-san doesn't realize that I do this by myself all the time." Honestly, it had hurt that Gen-san wouldn't believe that Souji could complete this errand on his own. Kondou had asked _him_ to get the tofu. He most certainly did not need Hijikata's help!

Looking moodily at the tofu buckets in his hands, Hijikata sighed irritably but continued walking next to an equally sullen looking Souji. The brat was right; Hijikata could well imagine the boy making several trips to the tofu stand by himself before accepting help from his rival. Hijikata had honestly been surprised when Souji had only put up a token argument before relenting to Gen-san's suggestion to take Hijikata with him to pick up the tofu. It had been a rare glimpse of the polite, cooperative child that almost everyone besides Hijikata knew.

The two walked in silence for several blocks. The lull in conversation wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but neither was overly friendly. During this time, Hijikata took a few moments to study his younger companion. While he often spent time with Souji, it was rarely alone. Usually Kondou and Gen-san were present, or the other students. From what little Kondou had told him of Souji's past, Hijikata had gathered that so far fate had not been especially kind to the boy. Both of his parents were dead and his relationship with his sisters was a bit strained at best. Souji was also small for his age, which didn't help when the other students teased and bullied him.

He had often wondered why there was so much animosity between himself and Souji. They had only met a few months ago after all. Maybe, when he considered everything he knew, he could understand the boy a little bit better than when they had first met. Souji _adored_ Kondou and perhaps he perceived Hijikata's friendship with his mentor as a threat. Hijikata looked down towards the boy again, this time with a softer look on his face. Maybe he should try being a little more patient with him. Before he could muse any further on this revelation, a soft question from the object of his thoughts reached his ears.

"Ne, Hijikata-san?"

With his newfound resolution firmly in mind, Hijikata smiled at Souji, "Yes?"

Souji looked up at Hijikata and paused, seeming to reconsider what he had been about to ask. "What's wrong with your face?"

Hijikata looked curiously at the boy. He couldn't have heard him correctly. "What do you mean?"

"I've just never seen that expression on your face before. You look like Shuusuke-sensei when he's drank too much sake."

Hijikata counted to ten. _Remember your resolution…_ Only Souji could make him forget a promise made two minutes previously. Taking a deep breath, Hijikata struggled to keep his voice level and friendly. "You're saying I look intoxicated?"

Placing his hand on his chin, Souji made a show of examining Hijikata closely. "Maybe. Your eyes are really narrow and your cheeks are kind of flushed."

Hijikata counted to fifty this time. Right now he couldn't even refute Souji's observations. His eyes _were_ narrowed and his cheeks flushed. Not with drink as Souji apparently assumed, but with mounting ire.

Evidently taking Hijikata's silence as a cue to continue, Souji added, "You're also stomping around very ungracefully. Is this what you do in the hanamachi as well?"

Hijikata stopped in the middle of the street. There was no way Souji had just asked him that question. How did a child even know about such things?

Seeming to realize Hijikata was no longer walking with him, Souji turned around and called out to him as if nothing were amiss. "Hijikata-san? Why are you just standing in the middle of the road? You're in the way, you know. There's a cart coming up that won't be able to get around you." Souji pointed out helpfully.

Shaking his head, Hijikata noticed that he was indeed causing a traffic jam of sorts and quickly started walking to catch up with Souji. Glaring at the boy, he asked tersely, "Why do you think I go the hanamachi anyway?"

Souji's bright green eyes widened, making his face appear even more innocent and childlike. "It's just something I heard." He replied simply, shrugging his shoulders.

Hijikata was not fooled for a moment. Souji was up to something. Kondou and Gen-san might be taken in by that expression but Hijikata was certainly _not_. "When we first met, what did I tell you about being able to tell the difference between stupid rumors and the truth?"

"Wasn't it something about a certain someone who still lives with their sister and doesn't have a proper job?" Souji answered cheekily. Looking towards Hijikata, Souji let a satisfied smirk creep across his face. Hijikata had taken the bait. "But are you saying that you're not extremely popular with all the oiran in Yoshiwara?"

Narrowing his eyes further at the boy, Hijikata admitted he was confused. What was Souji's game here? The first part had most definitely been an insult, but the other had sounded almost like… a compliment? A rather backhanded one to be sure, but a compliment nonetheless. However, that devious smile of his clearly implied otherwise. Even though he knew that he was going to regret this lapse in judgment, he decided to see where this conversation would lead. Generously deciding to ignore the first insult, Hijikata cleared his throat and replied neutrally, "I'll admit I've been to Yoshiwara before. There are many teahouses there where one can enjoy the company of a oiran or two."

Souji nodded in what seemed like agreement, "Kondou-san was telling me about what happens in the teahouses just the other day."

"Kondou-san told you _what_?!" Hijikata exploded. Before he could say anything else though, Souji interrupted him.

"Oh, look. We're here." Ignoring Hijikata's shocked expression, Souji handed his buckets over to the tofu vendor to be filled. When Hijikata didn't hand his over, Souji sighed impatiently, grabbing them from the man's slackened grip and gave them to the merchant. "Come on Hijikata-san, we should head back." Souji prodded his still stunned companion. "You'll catch flies if you leave your mouth open like that much longer. I doubt your oiran would like you very much then."

Quickly snapping out of his daze, Hijikata picked up his two tofu buckets and once again was faced with catching up with Souji's quickly retreating form. "I can't believe Kondou-san would tell you about that. You're just a kid after all."

This time it was Souji's turn to glare at Hijikata. And if looks could kill… well, Kondou would be down a student. "Kondou-san wouldn't lie. I asked him about it and he told me."

Hijikata realized his mistake immediately. One just _did not_ question Kondou's judgment (or Kondou in general) in front of Souji. The boy's knuckles were turning white from his tightened grip on the handle of his tofu buckets and an angry flush was taking over his face. Hijikata attempted to reverse the damage caused by his earlier statement. "Calm down Souji. I just meant that I was surprised he had talked to you about it, not that I thought he had lied to you."

Glancing Hijikata's way in order to assess his sincerity, Souji made a vague sound indicating that he had heard Hijikata's words. Silence once again reined between the two; but unlike before, this one was tense. However, it was Souji who again ended up breaking the silence. "It just bothered me when I heard about it. I didn't understand." He said quietly.

"Didn't understand what?" For the third time since this conversation began, Hijikata was confused by Souji's words.

Smiling in a way that made Hijikata extremely nervous, Souji replied, "I didn't understand why they said you were so popular with the oiran."

Hijikata's eye began to twitch. "And what exactly is so hard to understand about that?" He ground out. He knew he would regret continuing this conversation, but he hadn't been able to help himself from becoming defensive. Souji wouldn't just agree with him without some other purpose in mind.

Looking at Hijikata almost pityingly, Souji answered, "You mean you don't understand either?" Souji shook his head in commiseration. "I'm just saying that I finally understand why you kept your popularity a secret."

"A secret?" Hijikata replied warily.

Souji continued grinning, all the time acting as though he were imparting some sage advice. "Well, it's not really that big of a secret is it? Your rough personality that is." He said, managing to look properly concerned. Since Hijikata appeared shocked into silence, Souji continued, "It must be hard to find girls around town willing to put up with it. That's why you kept your popularity in the hanamachi quiet. And while I know that you like spending time with all those oiran, I can't imagine Kondou-san would approve of you spending so much time and money on women of questionable morals." Souji patted Hijikata's arm consolingly, "How about this, I won't tell Kondou-san about your… _activities_ if you'll buy me some dango."

Hijikata's fingers itched to grab his katana from his hip. _You cannot kill the brat. Kondou-san would be devastated if you killed him. Maybe it could look like an accident… NO! You have to bring him home in one piece._ "Dango? You're blackmailing me because you want dango?" Hijikata asked incredulously. He truly could not believe what he was hearing.

"Blackmailing you?" Souji asked, a shocked expression on his face. "I'm just trying to _help_ you Hijikata-san. Kondou-san made it very clear that he does not approve of visiting the hanamachi as often as you do when we talked the other day. I know you want him to have a good opinion of you so that's why I'm offering my help."

"Your _help?!_" Hijikata practically shouted. "There is no situation where your 'solution' could be called help! Where did you even hear about this anyway?"

"Now, now Hijikata-san, there's no need to yell at me. I understand that you lack popularity outside of the hanamachi and Kondou-san is the only one who likes you, but you really shouldn't take that out on me. As to where I heard about it, I found a book of really bad poetry laying around with some letters in it."

"What do you mean I lack popularity… wait, you read my personal letters?!" Hijikata sputtered.

Souji looked affronted. "I didn't _know_ they were yours until I read them. Did the oiran in the letter write the poetry as well? That would explain it's poor quality."

"I can't believe you went through my poetry book!"

"_You_ wrote that poetry?" Souji asked incredulously. "But the handwriting was so girly looking that I was sure your oiran had written them."

Hijikata had been right. He definitely regretted continuing this conversation. He could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on and the only way to head it off was to give in. Souji had bested him. Again. His lack of resistance at Gen-san's suggestion of Hijikata accompanying him on this errand was now abundantly clear, although only Souji's convoluted idea of logic could have thought up a plan this ridiculous. Although it almost killed him, he managed to bite out a response. "Fine. I'll buy you the damned dango."

He was gifted with a large smile from Souji, one he most certainly did not appreciate. "I'm glad we could come to an agreement. I'll make sure your reputation with Kondou-san isn't ruined over something silly like too many visits to the hanamachi."

Hijikata rolled his eyes at Souji's words. Looking at their surroundings, rather conveniently, _Too conveniently! _Hijikata thought, there was a cart selling dango to his right. Steering his way through the crowd, he looked impatiently at Souji. "Well? Tell him what you want."

Smiling happily at the dango seller, Souji gave him his order. Hijikata knew he shouldn't be surprised anymore where Souji was concerned, but he had honestly expected a much larger bill considering the amount of trouble the brat had gone through. Eyeing the carefully packed sweets in Souji's hands sulkily, Hijikata paid the merchant and began walking back to the dojo, not really caring at this point if Souji was with him or not.

Kondou was waiting for them on the veranda when they returned. "Toshi, Souji! You're back. I was starting to get worried, you were gone for quite awhile."

Souji immediately rushed forward, placing the tofu buckets absently on the steps. "Kondou-san, we stopped on the way for dango." Souji replied cheerfully. He then reached into his yukata, pulling out one of the packets of sweets. "I got this for you."

Kondou looked surprised, but accepted the dango anyway. "Thank you Souji. I had a craving for some dango today, how did you guess?" The older man asked kindly.

Beaming at his mentor's praise, Souji beckoned him to sit on the steps to share the treats. He had just taken his first bite when Kondou asked curiously, "How did you come by this dango Souji? Treats like this can be expensive."

Souji stopped chewing to throw a warning glare in Hijikata's direction. For his part, Hijikata just rolled his eyes. If it made it so he didn't have to deal with Souji for a while, then he would go along with whatever ridiculous charade Souji wanted him to. Therefore he was surprised when Souji grumbled under his breath, "Hijikata-san might have helped."

Kondou looked pleased by Souji's answer. "Toshi did? That was so kind! Join us, there's plenty to share."

But Hijikata had honestly had enough of Souji and his games for one day. "Thanks Kondou-san, but I'm going to take the tofu to the kitchens. After that, I really need to make a few more rounds selling medicine before dinner tonight. Nobu will start to complain again if I don't."

Smiling good naturedly at him, Kondou replied, "Ah yes, it wouldn't do to upset Sato-san again. Just make sure you're back in time to greet our guests tonight."

"Of course Kondou-san."

Souji watched Hijikata walk towards the kitchens, pleased that he would in fact have some time alone with Kondou. "Ne, Kondou-san? Who's visiting tonight that we needed all the extra food?" Souji asked curiously. He had been so wrapped up in his earlier plans that it hadn't occurred to him to ask who the guests tonight would be.

Laughing somewhat nervously, Kondou answered, "Ah, well… the Matsui family will be joining us for dinner tonight."

Souji frowned. _Kondou-san looks nervous._ "Why?"

Blushing slightly, Kondou answered, "There are some important things about the future we need to discuss with them." Clearing his throat before continuing, "I'll need you to be on your best behavior tonight, especially with Matsui-san's daughter."

Finishing the last dango with a flourish, Souji nodded in agreement. "Of course Kondou-san. What's her name?"

A somewhat dreamy glaze crossed Kondou's face as he replied, "Tsune."

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><p>Author's Notes:<p>

1. Hopefully Souji wasn't too mean! I rewrote this more times than I'd like to remember…

2. Also, for the sake of this story I've made Kondou's marriage happen a few years earlier, so please forgive the historical inaccuracy.

3. I've gotten some brilliant suggestions for future chapters, so thank you for those and please let me know if you think of any others!


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